C.J. Cron has Rangers' number as his five RBI carry Angels to 5-2 win

The Angels' C.J. Cron watches his two-run double off the wall in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Angels' C.J. Cron gets a high-five in the dugout after his double off the wall in the seventh inning drove in two runs against the Rangers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Angels third base coach Gary DiSarcina congratulates C.J. Cron after his double off the wall in the seventh inning drove in two runs against the Rangers Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERR

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C.J. Cron is all smiles after driving in all five runs as the Angels beat the Rangers 5-2 Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Angels' Mike Trout celebrates with Shane Victorino after Victorino's inning-ending catch on a Shin-soo Choo line drive in the fifth against the Texas Rangers. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Angels' Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun celebrate after scoring on a C.J. Cron single in the third inning against the Texas Rangers Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Angels' Kole Calhoun celebrates after scoring on a C.J. Cron double in the seventh inning against the Rangers Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Angels' Shane Victorino crashes into the outfield wall after failing to catch a triple by the Rangers' Shin-soo Choo in the seventh inning Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Angels' David Freese can't reach this single by the Rangers' Mitch Moreland in the second inning Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Angels' Albert Pujols tags out the Rangers' Rougned Odor in the second inning Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The Angels' Garrett Richards celebrates after inducing a double play to end the first inning against the Texas Rangers Friday night at Angel Stadium. KEVIN SULLIVAN, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ANAHEIM – C.J. Cron’s statistics against the Texas Rangers defy reality. The Angels enjoyed the pleasures of this alternate reality at Angel Stadium on Friday night, when the young slugger drove in all their runs in a 5-2 victory over Texas, the team they’re chasing in the wild-card race.

Against all non-Texas teams this season, Cron has been a below-average batter, carrying a .678 OPS. But, against Texas, he becomes better than Bryce Harper, with an 1.182 OPS. He has driven in 17 runs against the Rangers and 20 against everybody else.

“I wish I knew why,” he said. “I don't see any correlation. But I don't know.”

It is a number influenced by small samples, of course. Cron has had 52 plate appearances against Texas. But only 16 players have posted a better OPS against any team this season, and most of them are All-Stars.

Richards started Friday and lost his release point during the game, turning his stuff wild. He struck out only one Ranger and walked five, as many as he had in his last four starts combined.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia pulled Richards after 91 pitches when he walked the first batter of the seventh. Because he stranded several runners, Richards was charged with just two runs in six-plus innings.

Throwing 97 mph from the first pitch, he gave up a double to Delino DeShields to begin the game, and then faced runners on the corners with one out. He got Adrian Beltre to 0-2 and induced an inning-ending double play.

The Rangers loaded the bases without a hit in the sixth, on two walks and a hit-by-pitch. With one out, Rougned Odor flew to left field, and Prince Fielder tagged from third to score. Erick Aybar, at his most enterprising, cut off Shane Victorino’s throw and fired to second base, where he caught Mitch Moreland late to get back, ending the inning.

The play at second happened at the same time Fielder touched home plate, and so it went to review, where it was eventually confirmed Fielder had scored – by “an eyelash,” Scioscia said.

The Angels hinted they would get to Rangers starter Martin Perez early. In the first inning, Mike Trout laced a 102-mph grounder right at Beltre at third base for an out. In the second, David Freese smacked a double to the right-field wall for the Angels’ first hit.

Then, in the third, they loaded the bases for Cron, who delivered a two-run double. Albert Pujols walked in front of Cron in the fifth inning, and he delivered a triple. Kole Calhoun singled and Trout walked in front of him in the seventh, and he delivered a double.

All his hits – and thus all the Angels’ runs – came with two outs.

“You couldn’t clutch up any more than he did,” Scioscia said.

Cron shuffled between the majors and minors for the season’s first three months. Since his June 29 recall from Triple-A, he has generally hit the way the team hoped he would all season.

He has walked more, struck out less, and powered more pitches to the outfield, and his splits against the Rangers are buoyed by the fact the Angels have frequently faced them since that recall.

“There’s no doubt there’s a comfort level that he acquired down there in Triple-A,” Scioscia said. “He’s been attacking the baseball since he got back up.”

Angels left fielder Shane Victorino made a diving grab to end the fifth inning but ran into the outfield wall attempting to field a triple in the seventh. He was tended to by trainers but stayed in the game.

Trevor Gott, Joe Smith and Huston Street each walked one man while firing scoreless innings of relief, as the Angels walked a season-high eight batters. It was the first time since Sept. 2, 2013, also a Garrett Richards start, that they won a game in which they walked eight or more men.

The Angels (68-66) moved within 2 1/2 games of Texas for the second American League wild-card slot. The remaining two games in this weekend’s series should swing the team’s playoff odds dramatically. They could be in playoff position in a few days if all goes well, or they could be almost entirely out of it.

“It’s about that time where we’ve gotta start winning,” Cron said. “This is a good opponent to start with. We can cut it down a little bit, and that’s our goal.”

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